Honey, Honey Hi: Hot-tober

I couldn’t quite believe my eyes a couple of weeks ago when I did the routine weather check on my phone. The week read; blistering hot sunshine with temperatures peaking at 30 degrees. What! EXCUSE ME?! 30 degrees! - But that's hotter than the Bahamas (as the radio later tells me). As I rubbed my eyes in disbelief and double checked my phone again, the orange sunshine icon beaming back at me never looked so bright, and I am sure if I tilted my head to the left and squinted ever so slightly, the symbol was smiling back at me. No, of course that bit was a lie, but it might as well have been true! It was going to be a good week.
But wait. This is October isn't it? We should be experiencing grey skies, rain and cold mornings with the occasional whisper of frost. I am so confused, too confused to care, all I could think about was rapidly topping up what was left of my almost invisible Spanish tan. So I slipped on my favourite summer dress, rested my shades on my nose and stepped into my flip flops. These summer clothes were not ready for the storage box just yet.
Agghh wait. BIG problem. I haven't shaved my legs! Okay, I'll substitute the dress for leggings and a floral top, just for the day. I will dig the razors out later.

So other than trotting around in wedges (just because I could) and eating my lunch in the garden at work, I probably wasn't taking advantage of the glorious weather as much as I thought I should. When it was over, I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed, I should have done something. So when I heard that we were in for some more sun after the brief spell that kissed early October, I knew I had to partake in something outdoorsy and quintessentially British - that didn’t involve me sitting in the garden downing jugs of Pimms! The Friday night before the second blast of sunshine was due, my friend requested my company whilst walking her puppy in the morning. Sure, good idea! I don't ever recall walking a dog before, this was new, exciting and most importantly, outdoors. Now providing I didn't have to pick up any doggy droppings (I had just painted my nails) I knew I was in for a pleasant morning. So I headed out on my first dog walk. It was so nice, the fresh air, the green grass, the bluest sky. Part of me wished I had a dog so I could do this more often, hang on, we're only in for two days of sunshine. I don't fancy walking in the cold weather regardless of how cute or possibly overweight my dream dog would be. Plus picking up shit would be mandatory if the dog was my own. Scrap that. Looks like this dog walk is a one off!

Whilst walking the dog, which clearly wasn’t enjoying the walk as much as us. - Have you ever known a dog who likes to be carried on a walk? Is this normal? Anyway...my friend and I decided that we should dust off our bicycles and head somewhere in the afternoon for a mini adventure. We quickly deposited the lazy dog back home and enthusiastically set out on what would turn out to be one of my favourite days of the whole summer...in October!?

So we cycled and cycled until our legs couldn't spin any more. We went from Ewell to Surbiton, Surbiton to Thames Ditton, through Thames Ditton to Hampton Court, a quick photo op on the bridge then it was back on the bikes. Hampton Court to Kingston, ouch! legs.were.beginning.to.hurt. Let's stop. Okay, Kingston to Harts Boatyard for a glass of some well earned sunshine cider. Two pints later, although 3 would have been ideal but we are classy girls and to be honest, didn't know the drink driving rules when it came to push bikes. So we slowly cycled back, I think we did around 15 miles! Wow. Go team sunshine!
During our bike trip, we saw some really beautiful scenes. Families enjoying trips on boats, the sun glistening on the Thames, old ladies chowing down 99's, those welcoming smiles from strangers that only sunshine can bring out. It was such a GOOD day.
But as I type this, the weather seems to be retuning back to the seasonal norm. I even slept with the heating on last night.
All because of my day, I can honestly say the weather was so good while it lasted, and I feel that I certainly made up for the lack of activity earlier in the month.
I can't wait to see what surprises November brings!

Natalie x

P.S. there are two things that I have learnt from my day in the October sun:
1. Walking a dog makes you loads of friends.
2. Riding a bike for 4 hours seriously hurts your arse.